"Are you going to keep us standing here all night?" Vaughn asked, breaking the silence.

Lexy smiled, rolling her eyes. "Can you blame me for being shocked?"

"I thought nothing shocked you," Vaughn answered.

Sydney took this time to study the woman who was part of the reason why her husband left her. He was right, they did look alike. More so than she imagined. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to hate the woman. It wasn't her fault Vaughn was a moron.

When she shifted her weight and adjusted Cory in her arms, Lexy turned her attention back to her. "You must be Sydney," She said pleasantly. "Come in," She added beckoning them in.

Sydney nodded, the corners of her lips twitching towards smile as she did as requested. "And this is Cory," She added, glancing down at her daughter.

"Can you really cure headaches in an instant?" Cory asked quietly instinctively clinging to her mother tighter.

"Of course I can," Lexy answered smiling at her niece while she closed the door behind the party.

"How?" Cory asked next.

"That's a secret," replied her aunt.

"Daddy said that you'd tell me," Cory replied, glancing at Vaughn.

"He did, did he?" Lexy asked. Vaughn gave his sister a slight nod when she looked towards him. "Then I'll have to tell you," She concluded.

Cory smiled happily and picked her head up off of her mother's shoulder. "How?" She asked.

"How much does your head hurt?" Lexy asked.

"It hurt a lot before but now it don't so much," Cory answered after a pause.

"Hmm," Lexy mused tapping her chin. "I think you need some chicken noodle soup." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Sydney raised an eyebrow so she added, "If mum says it's alright."

This brought a small smile to Sydney's face. "It's okay with me."

Cory tilted her head in confusion. "How is chicken noodle going to help?" She asked doubtfully.

"You haven't had my chicken noodle," Lexy answered easily. "It works miracles for headaches."

Sydney had the feeling that this special soup of hers was nothing more than canned soup. Only Cory was thinking that it would heal her aching head. It was a mind over matter sort of thing. When she glanced at Vaughn, he nodded reading the question in her eyes.

Cory was still a little hesitant. "Oh-kay…" She relented.

"If it doesn't work, you got some free food and your mum can kick my butt," Lexy answered.

Cory giggled and nodded her agreement.

Sydney smiled at her before she put her down in one of the chairs at the dining room table. She had intended on sitting as well but her cell phone and whoever was calling her had other ideas. "Oh, it's my work," She sighed. "I'll be right back."

"Use the office at the end of the hall," Lexy told her.

Sydney nodded her thanks and set off down the hall. "Hello?..."

After her voice had died off, Cory turned to Vaughn who had sat down at the table with her. "How old is Aunt Lexy?"

From the kitchen, Lexy's laughter was apparent. "Don't answer that Michael."

"Older than me," Vaughn answered as a compromise.

"How old are you then?" Cory asked.

"Older than Mommy," He answered.

"How old's Mommy?" His daughter asked.

"Is all you do is ask questions?" Lexy teased setting a bowl of soup down in front of her niece before taking a seat at the table herself.

"No…" Cory grinned impishly and picked up the spoon, diving into the food right away. She really wanted to get rid of her headache. That and she hadn't eaten dinner yet.

"What did I say about lying?" Sydney asked hearing the tail end of the conversation. From about 'old's Mommy' on.

As her mother took the last spot at the table, Cory shrugged and said, "Do it?"

"No," Sydney chided though smiling. "Eat your soup."

"Yes Mommy," Cory replied going back to her food.

After about ten minutes, Lexy asked, "How's your head?"

Cory opened her mouth to respond immediately. But she changed her mind and closed it soon after, frowning slightly. "It's all better," She answered finally sounding in awe. "Wow…"

Lexy smiled at her, "Wait until you learn how to cure a sore throat."

"Tomorrow maybe," Sydney put in. "Right now, everyone under the age of ten has to go to bed." Her daughter's headache might have been gone but she still wanted her to rest.

Lexy caught the look she was being given by Sydney and said, "You can use the first bedroom on your right." Sydney smiled her thanks.

"Aww," Cory whined.

"Bed," Sydney repeated firmly.

"Can I get a story?" Cory asked puppy eyed.

Sydney smiled and nodded. "Come on," She said, standing up and offering her hand. Cory jumped off her chair and took it. "We'll be right back," She told the other two before heading off down the hall with Cory.

"She's a sweet little girl," Lexy commented, glancing at her brother. "A lot like her mother."

"I'll explain everything," Vaughn told her. "Just don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're highly amused and you just found out a juicy secret that you're going to blab to all the neighbors," He answered.

She just laughed.

-break-

"Don't look at me like that."

Lexy sighed and looked at the older woman warily anyway, "Why'd you have to tell him that? That there's a hit on his life. You know as well as I do that there isn't one. And the one on Sydney's isn't there anymore."

"You know why," was the only response.

"Because of you and that damned attachment you have to the Chosen One," Lexy muttered under her breath. Sighing she looked back up at the other woman, "What makes you think this child's the one Rambaldi's talking about? You don't even know if their child is a girl." She pointed out.

"Don't be naïve," answered the woman, avoiding the first question. "Derevko women always have girls."

"Always?" Lexy snorted rhetorically. "She's been a Bristow and a Vaughn, maybe that tradition'll change," She added with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"She's still a Derevko, whether she likes it or not," said the other woman firmly. "This child will be a girl."

"You know, this is my niece's life you're messing with," Lexy remarked. Her employer thought for some reason that the Chosen One needed to suffer in her life for her to become what she needed to be. Load of rubbish.

"And my granddaughter's and you don't see me faltering, do you?" Irina demanded, her eyes flashing with anger.

"You also shot your daughter in the shoulder," Lexy pointed out.

"That was for her protection, and so is this," Irina remarked dismissively.

"I think this is just some experiment of yours," Lexy told her, ignoring the older woman's remark. "You failed with test subjects number one and two and now you're hoping that number three will succeed. Third time's the charm, right? That's not going to happen as long as Sydney has breath in her to fight." She knew enough about the daughter Irina left behind all those years ago to know that she protected those she loved to the death.

"That is none of your business." Irina snapped. "All you have to do is be a supporting sister to your half brother."

"You're sick, Irina. Sometimes I wonder how anyone could give a damn about you." Lexy hissed, getting up to leave. She couldn't stand to be around the woman any longer.

"Give my best to Yelena," Irina called over her shoulder.

Lexy hesitated, almost turning back around but she ground her back teeth and kept walking.

-break-

"You're going to make it up to her, right? Being gone all these years." Lexy asked.

Vaughn sighed. "When I figure out a good way," He answered, "of course."

"You went back to her not knowing how you were going to make it up to her?" She asked.

"Wasn't it you that practically forced me to go back?" He questioned.

She waved her hand dismissively. "You know better than to listen to me."

"Well now I do," He teased.

She laughed softly, "Out of curiosity, how did you get to her to forgive you?"

"When I figure that one out, I'll let you know," He replied. "And didn't you tell me she'd forgive me?"

She shrugged. "Well, I was right."

"Like always," He murmured.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," She disregarded with another wave of her hand.

"Stop being humble, it doesn't fit you," He commanded lightly.

"Vaughn!" Sydney called, interrupting their conversation. "Can you come here for a sec?"

"Sure!" He yelled back.

Lexy smirked. "See? She has you whipped again already."

"I wasn't ever whipped," He defended. "Alright, maybe a little," He resigned, getting up from the table. "Stop giving me that smirk," He added over his shoulder as he headed down the hall towards the room where Cory and Sydney were. "Yeah?"

"Cory wants a goodnight kiss," Sydney informed him softly.

Vaughn smiled. "That I can do," He answered more for Cory's benefit than Sydney's. She gave him a quick smile before moving over so he could sit on the edge of the bed next to his daughter.

Cory hindered him from straightening back up after he'd kissed her on the forehead by throwing her arms around his neck. "I love you Daddy," She whispered giving him a kiss too.

"I love you too, sweetheart," Vaughn answered unwinding her arms from his neck. "Night."

"Night," Cory sighed curling up with her pillow and promptly closing her eyes.

Sydney watched the whole scene, a smile playing at her lips. "It's not fair how you're so good with her," She whispered when they were back in the hallway.

He shrugged. "We need to get that bite of hers cleaned properly in the morning," He told her.

She nodded. "Something doesn't feel right about it."

"About what?" Lexy interrupted.

Sydney gave Vaughn an exasperated look before turning to his sister. "One of Claire's cats bit Cory." Something along the lines of a mix of panic and triumph flashed through Lexy's eyes. Sydney blinked and it was gone.

"I have the stuff to clean it," Lexy answered. "For the morning of course."

"Of course," Sydney answered a little stiffly. She was pretty sure she hadn't imagined that look in the older woman's eyes.

"Do you want separate rooms?" Lexy asked next.

Sydney glanced at the man who was technically still her husband. He shrugged silently telling her that it was her choice. "We're both adults," She answered. "I think we can handle sleeping in the same bed. There's no need to mess up two more rooms." Truth was, she wanted to have a little talk with Vaughn and if sharing the same room with him was the only way she was going to get it, then so be it.

Lexy cocked an eyebrow slightly. "If you want," She replied gesturing towards the door across the hall from Cory's room. "G'night."

"Goodnight," Vaughn and Sydney answered simultaneously.

Sydney waited until the other woman had disappeared into her own room before grabbing Vaughn and all but shoving him into the room they were going to share. "We need to talk," She said quietly.

"About what?" He asked a little confused.

"Did you see that look in Lexy's eyes?" She demanded.

He frowned. "What look?"

She sighed. "I don't know how to describe it. She looked panicked yet happy at the same time about something," She explained. "And it was when we were talking about Cory's bite."

"Lexy wouldn't be happy about Cory being bitten," Vaughn defended.

"I'm not saying that she would be," Sydney countered. "But I know I saw it. What if she's planning something that involves Cory?" If that didn't sound paranoid, he knew what did.

"I believe you," He answered. "I just can't see Lexy doing that."

"How well do you trust her?" Sydney questioned quietly. "Enough to gamble your daughter's life?"

"You're being paranoid," He told her gently.

She sighed and pressed her hand against her forehead. "Yeah, okay, I am." She relented. "But I just met her, I don't trust her like you do and I probably won't for a long time."

"I don't expect you to," He answered daring to kiss her on the cheek.

She gave him a half smile. "We should probably get some sleep."

"Good idea

"There's a zoo in Stockholm, right?" She asked out of the blue.

He nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Because if I know Cory, she's going to demand that we go to the zoo tomorrow," She answered.

"She really likes her elephants, doesn't she?" Vaughn asked.

Sydney smiled, "She reminds me of someone else I know."

-break-

Sydney sighed and looked over at her boyfriend. "I'm bored," She informed him.

Vaughn laughed and set down his newspaper to look at her. "Then entertain yourself," He told her.

She smirked at him, leaning over to finger his loosened tie. "I could do that," She answered her eyes gleaming mischievously.

"Not with me," He chided gently. "I'm tired."

She pouted and dropped his tie, "Boring Vaughn."

"Well, I am so sorry that I'm tired because your father decided to work me into a hole," He retorted.

She gave him an apologetic look. "I think he's trying to scare you off or something," She commented.

"I wouldn't put it past him," He murmured.

Now she rolled her eyes at him and picked up the remote. If he wasn't going to entertain her, she could find something on the TV to. Something being the key word.

"Wait…" He said when she flipped past a channel. "Go back."

With a slight roll of her eyes, she did. "This one?" The Weather Channel? How… even more boring that channel surfing.

"One more," He insisted.

She did and looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "The Animal Planet?" She asked.

"Elephants," He answered gesturing towards the TV.

She laughed and tossed the remote off to the side as she leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. "Giraffes are better," She murmured after a long silence.

Vaughn chuckled and shook his head. "Nope, elephants are the best."

Sydney laughed as well, "You and your elephants."

-break-

"Mommy, can we go to the zoo today?" Cory asked at breakfast the next morning. After the soup, a good night's sleep, and a proper cleaning of her wound, it seemed like she had overcome whatever illness had caused her headache. She seemed like any other six year old.

Sydney sent Vaughn an 'I told you so' look and smiled at Cory. "I don't see why not."

"Do they have elephants there?" Cory asked.

Vaughn shook his head. "No, we're a little too far north to have elephants." Skansen, the zoo in Stockholm tended to feature animals more native to the Scandinavian region rather that importing animals from foreign countries. He'd only been there a couple times but Lexy, having spent some of her summers as a child in Stockholm was an old pro to the zoo.

"What do they have then?" Cory asked, frowning slightly.

"Wolverines, bears, elk, lynx, seal, there's the aquarium," Lexy answered when her brother gave her a glance. "And reindeer of course," She added.

"Like the ones that Santa has?" Cory asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Well, they don't fly," Lexy admitted. "But other than that, exactly like the ones that Santa has."

"Maybe you could give us the grand tour," Sydney suggested. Even with Vaughn's reassurances that his sister would never do anything that would hurt her niece, she was still apprehensive about the woman and it showed in her eyes.

Lexy shook her head. "I have some shopping to do."

"It can wait, can't it?" Vaughn disregarded. "You need a break, Lex."

She shook her head again. "No, I've put it off long enough. Maybe tomorrow we can visit the palace," She offered.

"There's a palace here?" Cory interrupted. "Is there a princess and a prince and everything?"

"Of course," Lexy laughed. "We can go tomorrow, I promise."

"Okay," Cory agreed happily.

Sydney frowned slightly at her sister-in-law's reluctance to join them at the zoo. Something wasn't right, she just couldn't place her finger on it. "Are you sure you don't want to join us?"

"Positive," Lexy answered a little too quickly for Sydney's tastes.

-break-

"Something doesn't feel right," Sydney murmured to Vaughn as they strolled along one of the pathways of the zoo. Cory had run a few paces ahead of them to go get a better look at the reindeer.

"You don't still think that Lexy's up to something do you?" Vaughn sighed, keeping his voice low. Neither wanted anyone to overhear their conversation.

"She lives in Stockholm," She answered. "And she couldn't wait til tomorrow to go shopping?"

He shrugged. "I'm not her babysitter. She doesn't have to explain her actions to me or you for that matter."

"I still think she's got a second agenda," She replied stubbornly.

"Well I don't," He answered.

"Maybe you're just blinded by the fact that she's your sister and you don't see things for how they really are?" She pointed out.

He sighed, glancing towards Cory to make sure she hadn't run off or something. "Don't let your anger towards me disillusion you against my sister," He requested.

Oh, she hadn't ever thought of that before. Maybe her bitterness towards him was finding an outlet in his sister. That was a different development. "I trust my instincts and their telling me something's not right."

"I trust your instincts too," He replied. "And most of the time they're right."

She gave him a dirty look before answering, "You're not seeing everything."

"And you're being paranoid," He countered.

"Mommy!" Cory interrupted their conversation by running back over to them and tugging on her mother's jacket. "Daddy, look!" She cried pointing towards one of the empty exhibits. "Elephants!"

Sydney frowned though she didn't let Cory see her frown as she looked to Vaughn. He looked back at her with a mirrored expression. "Sweetheart, there aren't any elephants," She answered.

"Yes there are," Cory insisted still pointing towards the empty exhibit.

Her parents didn't have the chance to argue with her anymore for a yelled command broke through the relative peace of the zoo. "Freeze!"

For Sydney, everything immediately slowed. Time itself seemed to stop. Surrounding them was a half dozen CIA agents, guns aimed towards her husband. Cory made a whimpering noise and clung to her mother. Numbly, Sydney reached down and picked her daughter up, cradling her arms as she watched the scene unfold.

It seemed surreal. How had they found them here in Stockholm? They hadn't told anyone where they were going and no one had seen them leave France. At least no one who could recognize them. She had left France with him and their daughter to prevent this from happening. But here they were, handcuffing Vaughn and reading him his rights.

"Sydney," One of the agents interrupted her thoughts as he pulled off his mask. It was her father. "Are you and Cory alright?"

Sydney nodded dumbly but didn't look at him. She was too busy staring at Vaughn. "Dad, I don't understand…"

"You know why we have to take him in," Jack answered. "Uncle Sam has some questions for him."

"No Dad," She protested. "You can't."

"I would've thought that you would have been overjoyed to see him taken into custody," Her father replied.

"I'm not," She snapped. "Please, Dad, you have to let him go."

"I can't do that Sydney," He answered signaling to his team members. "Get him onto the plane as soon as you can."

One of the team members nodded and signaled to the pair holding Vaughn. The agents cleared out, taking their captive with them. The crowd that had gathered from the second "freeze!' has been yelled parted, every face either staring at the detained man or the woman and child he had been with before.

"Mommy, where's Daddy going?" Cory squeaked, obviously scared.

"Back home," Sydney answered. "And so are we." She gave her father a pointed look and he nodded.

"Of course, if that's what you want." He answered.

"That's what we want," She replied coldly.

In the back of the crowd, a woman dialed a number on her cell phone and put the phone to her ear. "Trish's tip to the CIA worked. They just detained Vaughn," She told the party on the other end of the line. "She proved herself valuable for once."

"Good," came the answer. "And Sydney?"

"She's going back to the States with him and Cory," She answered.

"Excellent," the person answered. "Go with them and don't reveal anything to them, Lexy."

Lexy rolled her eyes. "You can trust me, Irina. You know that."

SSB's note: Alright, who saw that one coming? And before you accuse Lexy of being an evil you know what, remember that things aren't always as they seem. The same goes with Cory and her seeing things. If you haven't figured it out yet, it will become very obvious in the next couple chapters.

Thanks to: alias-sydney93001, ALIASobsessed89, soccerfreeek324, Grouchy, Lil Aussie Alias Chick, largemarge416, Morgan, Five Stories Fallen, ArodLoverus2001, and christie for reviewing.

Til next time,
Melanie

Next chapter: Crimes and their punishment